Alabama sports betting wasn’t necessarily expected to be a hot topic at the state’s legislative session this year. However, big news in that regard came out of Montgomery Tuesday.
Rep. Andy Whitt, among others, will sponsor a bill expected to be filed near the start of the legislative session, which is set for Tuesday, Feb. 6. The legislation will include bringing retail casinos and a lottery to the Yellowhammer State, and it would also bring some of the country’s best sportsbooks into the state, too.
More on the legislative effort
The bill is a response to a year-long project by Rep. Whitt, who has visited legal and illegal gambling establishments around Alabama. According to an article in the Alabama Political Reporter, a number of officials believed illegal operations were legal businesses.
The proposed bill would establish a gambling commission tasked with regulating businesses within the industry and selling licenses to would-be operators. It would also authorize tougher punishments for illegal gambling enterprises.
Rep. Whitt says the bill is wide-ranging, and establishes several different parts of the industry at once, for a reason:
“We don’t want to have to keep coming back and doing things one at a time. The Speaker wanted this bill to be comprehensive. The governor’s office has been clear that she wants a comprehensive bill. That’s what we’re doing.”
Possible opponents of an Alabama sports betting bill
A surprising source of opposition has sprung up in response to this bill. According to the APR piece, the Alabama Farmers Federation, or ALFA, has contacted elected officials and pressured them about rejecting any gambling legislation.
According to the article, one politician said the organization would “make my next election pretty difficult” if they supported Rep. Whitt’s efforts. ALFA clarified its stance in a response to APR:
“As a membership organization, the Alabama Farmers Federation’s positions on legislative issues are directed by written policy developed by our grassroots membership. Members continue to affirm the Federation’s policy on gambling, which states: ‘We support engaging with political partners to prevent the passage or limit the expansion of gambling in the state. We support full enforcement of Alabama’s laws related to gambling. We oppose gambling in all forms including casino gaming, state lottery, sports betting, electronic gaming, and online gambling.’”
Sports betting in the southeast US
Alabama sports betting could be yet another entry into what’s suddenly becoming a crowded marketplace. Several of the state’s neighbors either have sports betting or are considering sports betting legislation.
Florida recently relaunched sports betting. That industry is the subject of a legal battle that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court later this year.
There’s also action in Alabama’s neighbor to the east. Georgia sports betting came fairly close to fruition last year and is once again being considered in this year’s legislative session. Several major cities are located close enough to the Alabama/Georgia border. If one state legalizes sports betting and the other doesn’t, plenty of tax money could be on the move.
Continuing up the East Coast, North Carolina online sports betting is set to launch at some point in early-2024. Alabama’s neighbor to the north, Tennessee, has retail and online sports betting. Mississippi, which borders Alabama to the west, operates a retail-only sports betting industry.
